About a half-century ago

[Chief Grey Bear]

Some of my go to's from the good ol days. 

Some of these I use regularly and some I haven't used in some time. 

I had a couple of friends down a few weeks ago and we went to see the man that gave me my start on the rivers. He brought out an old lure that we haven't used on the river in years! I really had forgot about it. But it really got me to thinking and I'm going to start using one again this year. That being a Johnson Silver Minnow. With a skirt they are freaking deadly!

Ive got a collection of a few hundred old old lures that I picked about 20 years ago from a man I knew that spent a life time on the rivers fishing and trapping. 

I also have a few Fenwick rods that he built back in the 70's. I used to fish them a lot but have since quit using them. I have a few glass and bamboo fly rods and bass rods I've picked up here and there. I haven't picked up many reels. 

[Al Agnew]

 

Some of my go to's from the good ol days. 

Some of these I use regularly and some I haven't used in some time. 

I had a couple of friends down a few weeks ago and we went to see the man that gave me my start on the rivers. He brought out an old lure that we haven't used on the river in years! I really had forgot about it. But it really got me to thinking and I'm going to start using one again this year. That being a Johnson Silver Minnow. With a skirt they are freaking deadly!

Ive got a collection of a few hundred old old lures that I picked about 20 years ago from a man I knew that spent a life time on the rivers fishing and trapping. 

I also have a few Fenwick rods that he built back in the 70's. I used to fish them a lot but have since quit using them. I have a few glass and bamboo fly rods and bass rods I've picked up here and there. I haven't picked up many reels. 

Yep, I recognize nearly all of those.  I haven't night fished in a while, but the Jitterbug and Crazy Crawler would both definitely be in my night fishing box.  Looks like you like the skirt on the belly of the Tadpolly.  It will work well on the Lazy Ike, too.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Funny you mention that. 

I really need to trim it up. It's a little big for this one. 

That  Hawaiian Wiggler is one that dad mentioned using a lot when he was younger. I've heard countless stories about them. So a few years ago I got some. They still work just as well today!

Speaking of the Crazy Crawler and the Jitter Bug, I like those as apposed to the Buzzbaits because of the slower speed and the wobble action. Especially in the fall. 

[top_dollar]

Might consider putting better hooks on the ones you still fish with...

[Chief Grey Bear]

I have changed some. Others I have left original. 

Edit: Actually, I think there is only two there that I haven't changed out.

[Chief Grey Bear]

As you all know, I really like Tadpolly's. I mean usuing them. A lot of people collect them. At this point I still use most of mine.

Here are a few that like a good dog, make the trip with me every time I go.

This here is one that was chrome. The finish has wore off the body but is still on the bill. It doesn't seem to bother the fish much as it still produces "bigly"!

Another trick I do on some plugs is to put some pipe cleaner on the shank of the hook. In this case this is a Copper tad with gold pipe cleaner on the shank. Does it really help? I don't know but it does add a bit of bulk and flash to the hook. 

[dan hufferd]

 

As you all know, I really like Tadpolly's. I mean usuing them. A lot of people collect them. At this point I still use most of mine.

Here are a few that like a good dog, make the trip with me every time I go.

This here is one that was chrome. The finish has wore off the body but is still on the bill. It doesn't seem to bother the fish much as it still produces "bigly"!

Another trick I do on some plugs is to put some pipe cleaner on the shank of the hook. In this case this is a Copper tad with gold pipe cleaner on the shank. Does it really help? I don't know but it does add a bit of bulk and flash to the hook. 

Check out Jerry Routh on youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBKQM6wDVF6KxbYGrmccZZQ

He is literally the guy that wrote the book on collectible lures. He also claims to have invented the forward dressed hook. This is one of my favorites 

 

[Chief Grey Bear]

Yeah he's about 30 years behind those that I learned from. They were doing this back in the 60's. I'm not saying these guys thought of it. I think most everybody thought of it themselves all across the spectrum. When your bait hits the water and you let it sit there a second, the skirt gives it life by really blooming out.  

There is no need for his v-shaped hanger. I've never used one and neither did my dad or others. Your skirt will not cause any action problems or prevent you from catching fish. 

[Al Agnew]

Yep, obviously the guy I learned it from was doing it in the 1960s.  Old timers on the Big Piney River were doing it back then, too.  His reasoning, that the skirt disguises the hooks, is valid but not, in my opinion, the biggest reason it's effective.  Basically, I believe the skirt is usually the actual target that the fish goes for, rather than the lure body.  Nearly every fish I catch is hooked on the skirted hook, very seldom on the rear hook.  The guy that showed it to me absolutely used the skirt as the attractor, as Chief noted--he would let the lure sit for long periods of time and then just make it quiver slightly, which made the skirt quiver.  But I approach it differently, in that I want the skirt to wave widely back and forth.  On most crankbaits, even the ones he showed in the video, the skirt not only tamed the wobble of the lure body, but the skirt wobbled less than the lure body.  Which is why in my other post on this, seeking the holy grail of a deep diving crankbait in which the skirt waves as widely as the lure body, I have found only one deep diver so far where that is true.  On the other deep divers I use, I tie a very sparse skirt onto the belly hook, which doesn't tame the lure body wobble, and serves as a bit of an attractant.

Note also that the video mostly shows lures viewed from below, which is the fish's viewpoint in a shallow runner but not so much a deep diver.  

The V wire is an interesting idea.   Not necessary on many lures, but on lures where the skirt seems to tame the wobble of the lure too much, I like a skirt tied up close to the eye of the hook like that, rather than letting it slip down the where the hook bends flare out--that seems to lessen the influence of the skirt on the lure.

[fishinwrench]

Basically all you're doing is turning a crankbait into a floating chatterbait.